


Heads Will Roll

by UpliftingNightmares



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, College, M/M, Project Partners, Slow Build, more tags will be added later probably, very brief mention of cannibalism, very brief mention of rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-17 03:23:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8128522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpliftingNightmares/pseuds/UpliftingNightmares
Summary: Hide pretty much finds this guy on accident. His name is Kaneki Ken, and he seems like a genuinely nice person. But, with news of a hidden murder finally being uncovered, is he really all that innocent?Human AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that popped into my head a couple days ago. I hope you enjoy!

Hide was never one for coffee shops. The atmosphere just didn’t mesh with him. He was more into fast food places and restaurants with outlandish themes. Nothing about reading while sipping from a cappuccino interested him. But, Hide also had skipped breakfast today due to him sleeping in way too late. Plus, he also had an assignment of some sort due in every single one of his classes, and one of his regular eateries would be too distracting. So, Hide found himself hurrying into the little cafe on his university’s campus. Some people turned to stare at him as he rushed up to the counter.

“Hello, how may I help you?” The employee looked up. Her facial features were set in something between a smile and a glare. Hide didn’t have time to really notice, as he was already grabbing his wallet.

“Uh, could I just have a black coffee? Thanks.” Hide fumbled around for money, and the cashier just sighed. After brushing some of her purple bangs out of her face, she punched a couple buttons into the cash register. A total appeared on the screen, and the cashier looked up.

“That’ll be 476 yen please.” Hide dropped a couple coins onto the counter, and the cashier gathered them up. After dropping them into the register, she said, “It’ll be out in a moment.”

“Thanks.” Hide gave her a small grin before moving over to sit at a table. He dropped his neon orange backpack on the ground, then plopped into the metal chair. Running over the things he had to do in his head, Hide decided to start on an essay for his English class. Before pulling out his laptop, he placed his orange headphones over his ears. They were already playing music, so he didn’t mess with the volume or anything. All he did was grab his computer and get to work.

Though it took a minute or so, Hide was able to get the groove of writing. With a goal in mind, he wrote like a madman. His fingers tapped at the keys with a practiced precision. With the music covering up the noise of the cafe, Hide was able to concentrate.

Well, at least until somebody tapped him on the shoulder. Though he was annoyed, Hide pulled his headphones down so they rested against his neck. Then, he glanced at the person who bothered him.

Standing in front of Hide was a boy. Well, at least he looked like a boy. With a roundish face and soft features, he probably looked much younger than he actually was. His face, which was framed with straight black hair, was dusted with a pink blush. Hide was taken aback, wondering why this guy was standing in front of him. But, when Hide’s eyes trailed downwards towards the cup of coffee in his hands, he could guess.

“Sorry, um, you ordered the black coffee, right?” Hide nodded, finding himself caught by the waiter’s grey eyes. “You weren’t responding to Touka calling out the order, so I thought I’d bring it to you.” Hide glanced over to the counter, only to see the cashier from earlier glaring at him. For obvious reasons, he returned his gaze to the person in front of him.

“Thank you. Guess I shouldn’t be playing my music so loud, huh?” Hide let out a small laugh, as if to try and ease the tension. He opened his eyes again, taking in more of the waiter’s appearance. Something struck him about it. Maybe because he seemed sort of familiar? But Hide couldn’t place the reason why.

“Well, actually, it’s not too loud. I mean, I can’t hear it, so, it should be fine.” The waiter trailed off, then cleared his throat. “Um, I should be getting back to work. I hope you enjoy your coffee.”

“Thanks.” Hide grinned, and the waiter turned around. Narrowing his eyes, Hide watched as he walked away. Now that he’d thought of it, Hide couldn’t shake off the familiarity of this guy. They had to have met sometime or another. Hide’s eyes trailed upwards, towards the back of the waiter’s head. And then it hit him.

“Hey!” The waiter turned around, along with most of the other people in the cafe. But, Hide couldn’t care less. “You’re in my class, right? For Japanese?” It was a small class, so in between lectures, Hide had time to study the other students. There was always this one particular guy who desperately took notes on everything the teacher said. Since he always sat in front, Hide could recognize the back of his head. It was a bit strange to admit, but he wasn’t going to say anything about that right now.

“Um, I think so. You’re Nagachika Hideyoshi, correct?”

“Yup, that’s me.” Hide grinned, only for it to falter. “Wait, how’d you know my name?” The waiter seemed a bit put off by the question, as the slight blush on his cheeks became more noticeable.

“You, uh, had a really memorable presentation last month,” he murmured, putting his hand up to his chin. The waiter tried to play it off as brushing something off his face, but Hide could tell that there must be some second meaning to the motion. “And, when I took notes on the presentations, I tried to remember everybody’s names. So, I, um…”

“Well, thanks for remembering me.” Hide smiled, then motioned for the waiter to come closer. Though he seemed a bit hesitant, he eventually did step up to Hide’s table. “And do you mind sharing your name? I think I might’ve missed your presentation. And name.”

“Um, my name’s Ken Kaneki.” The first thing that Hide noticed about this guy was that he was awful at maintaining eye contact. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. And please. Just call me Hide. It’s a lot shorter than Nagachika Hideyoshi.” Kaneki’s face flushed red, and Hide grinned. It was kind of cute, if he was being honest.

“Then I guess you can call me Kaneki?” It might of just been his imagination, but Hide thought Kaneki’s voice was a bit fast and high-pitched. Was this how you were supposed to react to a guy you just properly met? Hide didn’t know. He hasn’t had what most people would call a friend since elementary. High school was full of acquaintances and fake friends, but hey. He didn’t need to start thinking about that right now.

“Well then, Kaneki. I look forwards to seeing more of you in class?” Hide looked up at Kaneki, a decisive smirk on his face. Kaneki nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll look forwards to it,” Kaneki stuttered out. “Sorry, but I’ve got to return to work.” Hide nodded, still smiling. Kaneki let a small, shy grin play across his lips as he bowed his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, Kaneki whipped around on his heels, almost running to get back behind the counter. Hide watched as Kaneki hurried into the back room, covering his face with his hands. The cashier, or Touka, as Kaneki had called her, rolled her eyes and followed him. Hide shrugged to himself, then went back to his essay. Putting his headphones back on, he began to type again. For once he was looking forwards to going to class.

* * *

After leaving the coffee shop, all of the Kaneki-oriented thoughts left his head. They were replaced by math equations that he deemed pretty useless. But, if he wanted to graduate, he had to get the class out of the way. While sitting in the freezing lecture hall, Hide wondered if Kaneki liked math at all.

Okay, so maybe he thought about Kaneki a little. Or a lot. But, Hide couldn’t help it. Like said before, he hasn’t had a true friend since elementary school. Even if he only had one curt conversation with Kaneki, Hide saw some platonic potential. And, hey. That was enough to get him excited. So, when he walked into the Japanese classroom the next day, he was practically buzzing with enthusiasm.

Sure enough, Hide spotted Kaneki sitting in the front row. He had a couple materials out in front of him, like a notebook and pencils. But, Kaneki was ignoring them, instead focused on the book he was reading. With a grin, Hide stepped up to him and waited for him to notice. But, it didn’t happen. Kaneki was enraptured with whatever event was taking place on the page. So, Hide pressed down on the top of the book, finally getting Kaneki’s attention.

“Hey there.” Hide waved, and Kaneki smiled. “Mind if I sit next to you?” Kaneki shook his head, moving his possessions closer to his person. Hide jumped over the desk and settled into a seat. He started unzipping his backpack for his laptop, and noticed Kaneki watching him from the corner of his eye. “Hey, is everything alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” Kaneki stammered, scratching the side of his face. “Um, actually, I was wondering. Did the school loan you a computer, or is it your own?”

“It’s my own. Doesn’t this school have a program to loan students things like that though?” Hide asked, looking at Kaneki. The latter only turned down to his lap, brushing off his sweater vest. Hide just now noticed that Kaneki wasn’t wearing his work uniform. Honestly, he looked a lot more comfortable this way. Kaneki seemed a bit on edge yesterday, so Hide was glad that he wasn’t as awkward now.

“I think so. But, it might cost money. I’d rather not spend it on something I don’t really need.” Kaneki started to mess with the hem of his sweater vest. “I can just use the library’s computers to do assignments.”

“Are you sure? Those things are from the Jurassic period. If you want to really study or write or whatever, you can just come over to my house or something.”

The words left Hide’s mouth before he could think about them. Kaneki’s head shot up, like he didn’t believe what Hide just said. It was almost like Hide declared he was a cannibalistic clown or something. Now that’d just be crazy.

“Um, what? Are you sure?” Kaneki rubbed his arms, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. “I mean, we just kind of met.”

“I guess, yeah. I mean, my parents are hardly ever home, and I’ve got a huge house. Plus, it’s stupid to use those things. I tried once, and I lost my entire essay for my biology class. I don’t want that to happen to anybody else. Plus, I’d kinda like to get to know you. If that’s alright with you, of course.”

“Um, yeah. I guess.” Kaneki shifted, his voice oozing uncomfortableness. Hide clicked his tongue, mainly in annoyance with himself. Five minutes into knowing this guy, and he messed it up. Classic Hide.

“Hey, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. Whatever’s alright with you is alright with me. Just thought I’d offer, you know?” Hide leaned back, hoping that’d be enough to apologize. Kaneki gave a small shrug, looking down at his now-closed book. When he didn’t say anything, Hide sighed. “Sorry. Guess I shouldn’t of said anything.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Kaneki looked up, now in a rush to fix the situation. “I just don’t like going to people’s houses alone. That’s all.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I don’t want to make it awkward for you. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.” Hide smiled, and opened his mouth to say something else. But, the professor walked in just at that moment. She stood at the front of the room, waiting for everybody to quiet down. Before she began, Hide shot Kaneki an upbeat smile. Maybe, just maybe he could save this. Kaneki grinned back, but as soon as he turned back to his notebook, it faltered. Even if Hide knew what to say to make Kaneki smile again, he wouldn’t have time. The teacher already started talking. So, Hide just turned to his computer and opened up a word processor.

As the teacher spoke, Hide watched Kaneki out of the corner of his eye. He was curious to see how the bookish student operated in class. Hide, who was currently getting something close to a C in the class, thought that he could maybe learn a thing or two. Not so surprisingly, he found Kaneki writing notes before the teacher even began going over the lesson. Well, Hide wasn’t sure if the teacher had started the lesson or not. He hadn’t been listening. So, with the thought that Kaneki wouldn’t be focusing so hard on something unimportant, Hide squinted and tried to read the writing. But, instead of Japanese notes, he found an odd to-do list.

 

  * _Bring Touka’s watch to work with me tomorrow_


  * _Call Tsukiyama at 13:00 and ask about Jason_


  * _Visit Hinami at hospital tomorrow_



 

Hide turned back to his own computer screen, not wanting to look further. It was Kaneki’s personal information. Though he wasn’t exactly sure who all of the people mentioned were, they couldn’t possibly be of any interest to him. Certainly not. So, Hide had absolutely no idea why he glanced over again.

 

  * _Get rid of all pictures of Rize_



 

Deciding that he definitely shouldn’t look any further, Hide turned his attention to the teacher. She was talking about the last presentations that the class did. Since the class had gained more people over time, she wanted to do something different for this next assignment.

“Though the syllabus stated that presentations would mainly be singular, teamwork is also very important. So, for this project, I have assigned every person a partner.” The teacher pulled out a list. “Now, I’ll read off the names. After, I’ll go over the expectations for this assignment.”

There were some groans throughout the class, while others looked amongst themselves with bright eyes. As the teacher read out the names, Hide only sighed. This was so cliche. He’d read fanfiction before. Every single time people were paired up, they ended up together. And, most times, they ended up doing each other more often than doing the project. But, maybe Hide could use some fanfic magic right now. It’s not like he didn’t think people in this class were cute. There was a girl who usually sat near Kaneki who looked kind of pretty. There was also the girl who always sat in the back too. And maybe, just maybe, Hide could end up with-

“Nagachika Hideyoshi and Ken Kaneki,” the teacher announced, breaking Hide free from his thoughts. He glanced over at Kaneki, who was still staring at his paper. But, the moment he looked up, Hide smiled.

“Guess we’re going to be seeing each other more often, huh?” Hide whispered. Kaneki nodded, then pressed a finger to his lips. While good-naturedly, Hide rolled his eyes. This guy was a total teacher’s pet. But that wasn’t a bad thing. It fit Kaneki’s personality.

After everybody was paired up, the teacher went on to explain the basics of the assignment. It wasn’t too difficult. In fact, it was pretty much on par with a high school assignment. All the students had to do was read a classic novel, interpret it, and then create a presentation on it. There was only one catch. The book had to be written in a language other than Japanese. The students could read the translated version, of course, but the teacher wanted them to experience the cultural and stylistic differences of books not written in Japan. Hide wasn’t too upset, given he was majoring in foreign languages. But, Kaneki didn’t seem too impressed.

“Oh, come on. There’s been a million great novels written by people around the globe,” Hide said, once class was over. It was an attempt to make Kaneki feel better, but he only sighed.

“Yeah. I was just hoping we’d be able to do a book by Sen Takatsuki.” Kaneki was almost pouting as he shoved his notebook into his satchel. Though Hide had no idea who this Sen Takatsuki person was, he assumed that Kaneki really liked their writing. So, he patted Kaneki on the shoulder.

“It’s okay, man. Maybe if we have another assignment, we can do a book by that guy. Okay?” Kaneki nodded, staring down at his backpack. Hide moved his hand off of Kaneki and put it to his chin, mocking a thinking stance. “Hmm… Oh! We can do one of the Hannibal Lecter books. I read them a while ago, and they’re really good. Maybe even one of my favorite series.” It was true. Hide wasn’t an avid reader, so if there was a book he liked, that meant it was a pretty great book.

“Isn’t Hannibal Lecter the cannibal guy?” Hide nodded, and opened his mouth to go on a tangent on why it added to his character. But, Kaneki cut him off. “I don’t want to read that.”

“Oh. Okay,” Hide deadpanned, a bit surprised by the sudden rejection. “That’s okay. There are a ton of other books. Like, there’s this classic from America called _To Kill a Mockingbird_. I remember reading up on it a week ago, actually. It touches on racism and some of today’s other issues. It’s basically about a girl who’s father has to defend a black man in court. He was convicted of raping a-”

“I don’t want to read that book either,” Kaneki interjected, even curter than the first time. Hide clicked his tongue. He thought Kaneki would at least be a bit kinder when vetoing all of his ideas.

“Well, what do you want to read?” Hide asked, trying to keep his tone upbeat. Kaneki shrugged. When he realized Hide hadn’t responded, he looked up.

“You can choose something. I don’t want to make you read something you don’t want to read.”

“Well, you kind of don’t like my ideas, so what do you want to do?” Hide crossed his arms, giving Kaneki an incredulous look. The latter finally looked up, catching Hide’s gaze. His grey eyes were filled with something akin to dismay. Kaneki shifted his gaze, then zipped up his bookbag.

“Why don’t we do something that’s not as serious?” Kaneki suggested, finally adding some of his own thoughts. “I think there’s a genre called nonsensical fiction. Why not something like that?”

“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” As if he forgot all of the frustration from before, Hide broke into a humongous grin. “How about _Alice in Wonderland_? I’ve been meaning to read that one since elementary school. That one’s not as serious. Does that one work for you?”

“Yeah,” Kaneki whispered with a nod. “That sounds great. Thanks for being so nice about this.” That last comment caught Hide off guard. Though it might have been sarcastic, Hide thought it sounded genuine. So, once he got over his momentary confusion, Hide smiled.

“No problem, man. I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything.” That made Kaneki happy, and he might have let out a small giggle. Or, it might have been Hide’s imagination. Either way, it was adorable.

Not that Hide thought that a guy was adorable. Definitely not. No way. Not in a thousand years. Or at least not since high school.

“Alright. Do you want to work in the library tomorrow? I’ve got work soon, and I’ve got a morning shift tomorrow. We can meet for lunch sometime. But, I’ve got someone to visit after that, so I might not be able to work on it for very long, depending on when she needs me.” Remembering something about the hospital on Kaneki’s list, Hide hummed as he nodded Kaneki looked up, blinking his big grey eyes as an expectant smile spread across his face. Hide grinned, then gasped when he had an idea. Though Kaneki jumped with the sudden noise, Hide didn’t pay attention to that. Instead, he dug around in his pocket for his phone.

“Hey, Kaneki. Do you have a phone?” Kaneki nodded, touching his fingers to his pocket. “Well, why don’t we exchange numbers? That way we can come up with a good time and everything. And, if fate just has it out for us and we can’t work face to face, at least we can talk about it over texts. Sound good?”

“Oh, um, yeah.” Kaneki’s face went red as he grabbed his phone. Hide watched as Kaneki pulled a miserable looking flip-phone from his pocket. He didn’t say anything, however, not wanting to be rude. But, Hide hadn’t seen a flip-phone since he was a kid. It made him wonder what kind of financial situation Kaneki was in. But, that wasn’t any of his business.

“Here. Just give me your number, and I’ll text you so you have mine.” Hide smiled, and Kaneki nodded. Once Hide had a contact ready, Kaneki gave him his information. Once it was saved, Hide shot Kaneki a nice little text. Then, he smiled. “There. You should have my number now. I’ll text you about work tomorrow. See you later?”

“Yeah. Have a good day, Hide.”

“You too. Have fun at work today. Save me a coffee, alright? I might come by later or something.” Hide slung his backpack over his shoulder, stepping towards the door. His next class was in around 20 minutes, so he had to hurry.

“I will,” Kaneki laughed. “Bye Hide.” Hide waved, then jogged through the door. But, once it closed behind him, he stopped to smile. Something about Kaneki just made him so joyous. The possibility of actually having someone he might get close to made him so excited. And, although this was only the second day of knowing each other, Hide was ready to call Kaneki his friend. Finally starting to walk again, Hide’s thoughts lingered on Kaneki.

All he could do was hope that Kaneki felt the same way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh I actually finished this chapter early??? And I'm posting it on time?????? What is this???????
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy. ^.^

>>> _ Hide? Are you still up? I know it’s kind of late, but I forgot to text you earlier about our project. _

 

Hide smiled as he read over the text from Kaneki. His texting speak had the same professional and adorable tone that he had in real life. As Hide typed out a reply, he thought of the events that transpired earlier. 

He was on his way to the coffee shop Kaneki worked at to get a latte, but mainly to see Kaneki and talk about the project. But, halfway there, he received a phone call from his parents. Apparently, they had a business trip to go on, so they came home early from their vacation to get some clothes and stuff. But, when they got there, the house was a mess. Now, Hide wasn’t a messy person. But, he wasn’t as much as a neat freak as his parents. So, they completely flipped out and made Hide go straight home to pick up the house. But, once he got there, they were already on their way to the next airport.

 

>> _ Ya. Im awake. Sry I didnt go to ur work today. Parents made me go home and clean. _

 

>>> _ It’s fine. Not your fault. :) _

 

Hide grinned, hoping that Kaneki was doing the same on the other end of the phone. He probably was, if Hide could guess. Kaneki seemed like a smiley kind of guy. At least when he wasn’t being dismal, because he also seemed like a dismal kind of guy. Well, Hide had only known him for a day. He could be completely wrong for all he knew.

 

>> _ So, we still meeting up tmrw? or did u need to change days? i kno u gotta visit ur friend in the hospital _

 

>>> _ Um… When did I say that she was in the hospital? I don’t remember saying that… _

 

Shoot. Hide narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t remember whether Kaneki actually said it, or if it was on that weird to-do list of his. But, based on Kaneki’s reaction, he could guess. Clicking his tongue in disapproval with himself, Hide typed out a frantic response.

 

>> _ Haha idk maybe i just imagined it _

 

>>> _ Oh okay. Well, good guess. Yeah, I’ve got to go see her tomorrow since I promised I’d visit her. But, I think we can get together around 12:00? My morning shift ends at 11:30, and I have to leave for the hospital at around 14:00. That gives us two hours. Does that sound good to you? :) _

 

Kaneki used emoticons. Hide died a little bit on the inside, his smile widening even further. He shifted around on his bed so he was lying on his side. The phone charger stretched, making it bend. But, Hide didn’t care. Kaneki was a novice texter, obviously, since he didn’t use any of the shortcuts. Or, maybe he was just a grammar kind of guy. Both of them seemed likely. Not that he minded.

 

>> _ Ya. Sounds good. See u then. _

 

With a sigh, Hide finally set his phone down. It buzzed again, but Hide assumed it was just a confirmation text. So, he ignored it. Instead, he sat up and stretched, yawning at the same time. Scratching at the side of his head, Hide stood up and wandered outside of his room. The TV was still blasting the same boring news station his parents had on before they left. Not paying much attention to it, Hide wandered into the kitchen to get some food. He decided on a bowl of cereal. It was the same meal he’d practically been living off since his parents got this new job that required them to be literally everywhere else but home. But, it wasn’t all bad. Hide liked cereal. Especially the kinds with the little marshmallow bits in it.

Once Hide had his cereal, he walked back into the living room and plopped down on the couch. He grabbed the remote, about to change the channel. But, once he actually started listening, the news story actually started to interest him.

“And this is the one year anniversary of the missing person’s case. Last year, a woman went missing without a trace. No clues regarding her whereabouts were ever found. The only thing that police could find was a rustic pair of pliers in her room. But, the pliers held no obtainable DNA samples, leaving her disappearance a mystery. Police are thinking about closing the case, but the action must be approved first by court. If any of our viewers have a tip, or if any of you have seen this woman, please call emergency services at your earliest convenience.”

A picture of a woman appeared on the screen. She had beautiful purple hair, red glasses, and purple eyes that’d make any person’s heart melt. This woman also had on a beautiful smile. But Hide could tell from the look in her eyes that the smile was more than fake. Deciding that was enough news for one night, Hide switched the channel to a cooking show. Hide watched the show for a while before realizing that he should probably get started on the project for tomorrow. Groaning to himself, Hide stood up and walked into his room. His laptop was on his desk, so he grabbed that. And, realizing that he might want to text Kaneki ideas while reading, Hide went to grab his phone. But, when he opened it, he saw something much different than a confirmation text from Kaneki.

 

>>> _ Hide, may I ask you a question? Do you watch the news? _

 

>> _ Ya, sometimes. Y? _

 

Despite the ominous feeling it gave him, Hide sent the text. Was Kaneki a psychic or something? Did he receive an estranged vision of Hide watching the news? Hide hoped not. That’d be a pretty boring way to figure out you were born with anime powers, honestly. So, dropping his phone into his pocket, Hide returned to the living room. He collapsed onto the couch and opened his laptop. As he searched for a Japanese translation of  _ Alice in Wonderland _ , there was another buzz from his pocket. Hide grabbed his phone, and the next text only confused him further.

 

>>> _ Well, be careful. Sometimes news stations will blow things out of proportion for views and money. Not everything they say will be true. So, just be careful on what you think is true and don’t think is true. A lot of it is fake. Don’t believe everything you see, alright? _

 

* * *

 

“So, I didn’t get too far into the book, but I figured that one of the themes we should discuss is the difference between Wonderland and reality, and what that might mean.” Hide glanced over at Kaneki, who nodded while looking over his physical copy of the book. 

The two of them ended up meeting in the university’s library. While Hide was dying to know the intention behind them, he didn’t bring up last night’s texts. Kaneki didn’t say anything, so Hide figured he was just making a big deal out of nothing. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that, so he just pushed those thoughts aside, instead focusing on the project at hand.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I finished the book last night, but I don’t want to spoil things for you,” Kaneki said, making sure to keep his voice low. “Um, I kind of did some thinking on Alice as a protagonist and character. She’s really curious, and she doesn’t really fit a common archetype. I’d need to read over some lines of it again, but I think that’s good enough to start.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Hide wrote down a summary of what Kaneki said on his laptop, then turned to him. “Anything else? Considering you finished it, you got a lot further than I did.”

“Really? How much did you read?”

“Um, I don’t really remember,” Hide lied. He didn’t want to admit that he got about ten pages in before getting really into the cooking competition happening on TV. What Kaneki didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“That’s alright. We’ll just-” Kaneki was interrupted by a soft bit of classical music. He dug into his pocket, pulling out his little flip-phone. With a quick glance to the name on the screen, Kaneki sighed. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.” Before Kaneki stood up to leave, Hide also caught sight of the name. It was Shuu Tsukiyama. Hide watched as Kaneki rushed off to the restrooms, answering the phone as he went. With a sigh, Hide looked down at his computer. He knew that name. Kaneki had written it down in his notebook earlier. How strange.

Hide waited a couple minutes, but Kaneki still didn’t come back. Was he talking to a work partner? Hide didn’t see this Tsukiyama guy when he went to the coffee shop, but that didn’t mean he didn’t work there. He might of just had the day off, or was working in the back. But, even so, Hide didn’t understand what could take so long talking about coffee. Was there a civil war in the shop’s bean supply or something? Hide sincerely doubted it. So, under the influence of complete boredom, Hide decided he’d quick go and check on Kaneki. After closing his computer and sliding it into his backpack, Hide slung the bag over his shoulder and headed off towards the restrooms. People probably wouldn’t touch some papers and a book, right? Hopefully not. Hide walked in through the door to the restroom, only to stop when he heard Kaneki’s voice. He grabbed the door to keep it from closing, then strained to hear what was happening.

“Yeah. I know. Hopefully they won’t find out anything. That will only get the whole story more attention, given the timing.” Kaneki paused, and Hide could hear some slight mumbling from the phone. “You’ve told me that a million times, Tsukiyama. I’m trying my best. I got rid of everything. Nobody in real life knew about us, except for Touka, but she already knows what really happened. I don’t know what else you want me to do.”

Hide leaned against the wall. He didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping, but he didn’t want to barge in on Kaneki’s conversation. So, he just tried to ignore it. But, his attention was brought back when he heard his name.

“You mean Hide? No, I don’t think he knows. Don’t worry about him. He’s a good guy, and he won’t get involved. He’s safe, I swear it.” There was another halt in conversation, followed by an exasperated sigh from Kaneki. “No, Tsukiyama, I’m not getting defensive. My feelings don’t matter here, and I get that. Listen, I’ll see what I can do. I don’t want to make him suspicious already”

Well, Hide was pretty sure that it was too late for that. Just like Alice, he was now dying to know what was going on. But, Hide was getting nervous now. Deciding it was better to just cut the conversation off now, he let go of the door. The noise was enough to startle Kaneki out of his conversation. He rushed through a quick goodbye to Tsukiyama, then turned the corner to greet Hide, who plastered a fake smile on his face.

“Hey Kaneki. Just thought I’d check on you. You were gone for a while, so I wanted to make sure everything was alright.” Kaneki’s expression switched from one of suspicion to one of relief.

“Oh, everything’s fine. Thanks for worrying though,” Kaneki said, pressing his hand up to his chin. “I was just talking to Touka about my friend in the hospital. She wanted me to go see her sooner, but I explained that we were working on a project. I might have to leave a couple minutes earlier to satisfy her wishes though.”

Hide narrowed his eyes at the obvious lie. Yeah, the two of them just met. But, Hide had assumed that Kaneki wouldn’t hide anything from him. Of course, Hide had also assumed that Kaneki didn’t have anything to hide. So, he just nodded.

“That’s alright. You can leave now, if it’s easier. She probably needs your company more than I do, anyways.”

“Huh? No, no, no. That’s not it at all. I visited her a couple days ago, and Touka visits her almost daily. It’s not something that needs to happen right now.” Kaneki sighed, as if he was hesitating to say the next part. But, he opened his mouth anyways. “Plus, I enjoy your company. It may sound weird, but I kind of want to get to know you.”

“Nah, I don’t think it sounds weird at all. The weirdest thing about this conversation is that it’s taking place in a library bathroom.” Hide played off his own doubts with a laugh. That made Kaneki smile, and Hide was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat. “Anyways, yeah. You seem like a pretty cool person. What do you say to us hanging out sometime? You know, after this project is over. You and me, without the weird rabbits and Jabberwockies.”

“I say that sounds lovely.” Kaneki’s face went red as he spoke. Hide grinned, then gave Kaneki’s shoulder a light punch.

“Then, come on. Let’s get this thing done so we can have some fun or something.” Hide started to stroll out of the bathroom, with Kaneki close behind him. The latter tried to match his pace with Hide, then smiled up at him. Hide waggled his eyebrows, then returned his gaze to their workspace. Everything was still there, just as Hide expected. 

The two of them sat down and started where they left off. The rest of the session went off without a hitch. Kaneki actually gave Hide a lot of insight to the hidden meanings of the book. For the most part, Hide had no idea what Kaneki was talking about. But, it sounded intelligent, so Hide wrote down Kaneki’s thoughts. After about a half hour, Kaneki said that he should probably go. His friend would be waiting for him in the hospital. 

“Uh, Kaneki, do you mind if I ask something?” Hide watched as Kaneki stopped packing up. The latter nodded, prompting Hide to continue. “Like, you don’t have to answer if it’s a bad subject or something, but what’s your friend in the hospital for?”

“Oh. It’s kind of private. But, my friend, Hinami, is in a vegetative state right now.” It took a moment for Hide to process that. But, when he did, he was stuttering out profuse apologies. Kaneki waved them off. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. A couple months ago, she and her mother both got into a car accident with a drunk driver. Her mother died instantly, but Hinami survived with brain damage. The doctors say she’ll wake up, but it’s been a while.”

Kaneki eventually shut himself up. Then, he apologized for being dire, then slung his satchel over his shoulder. After saying goodbye to Hide, Kaneki hurried up and left the library. Hide only turned back to his computer screen, sighing to himself. Damn. If he would’ve known, he would have never asked about Hinami.

Hide eyed his workspace, then noticed that there was a stray notebook. It didn’t belong to him, so Hide had no idea why he picked it up. But, upon opening it, he recognized Kaneki’s neat handwriting. Looking further, Hide saw a couple notes for  _ Alice in Wonderland  _ near the back, but most of it looked unrelated to class. Deciding this was probably important, Hide pulled out his phone to text Kaneki. He told the latter that he’d bring it to their class together next week. After putting his phone away, Hide glanced over the words. Everything looked so neat and precise. However, a couple pages in, scribbles appeared in the margins. The name Rize popped up a lot. And, about halfway through, Hide started to get worried.

 

_ Why won’t Rize talk to me? _

 

_ I wish that Rize wouldn’t yell so often. _

 

_ Rize made fun of my weight today. _

 

_ I miss Rize. _

 

_ I miss my mom. _

 

Hide closed the notebook, not wanting to look any further. A feeling of guilt settled in his chest. That was personal stuff. Hide just read it, and he really shouldn’t have. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Hide placed the notebook in his backpack. Then, he promised himself to never, ever open that notebook again. With a sigh, Hide leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Just what rabbit-hole did he jump into this time?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my fic! I hope you enjoyed it! And thank you so much for the kind words on the last chapter. They were really inspiring, and I smiled the entire week. Thank you again, and have a nice day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is a bit late! Despite it's timing, I hope you enjoy it. :)

Kaneki didn’t show up to class. Hide expected him to be there, as he texted that he’d be there for his notebook. But, that was a couple days ago. And, when Hide went to the coffee shop the day before, Kaneki wasn’t there. He asked Touka about him, but she said that he called in sick and didn’t know anything else. Hide figured it’d be okay, but texted him just to be sure he was alright. Kaneki never responded.

While the professor was going on about phonetics or something, Hide eyed the front row. Now that Kaneki wasn’t here, he didn’t have a reason to sit all the way up there. So, like normal, Hide was in the very back. It was such a weird transition. Now it felt like he was miles away, looking at the teacher through a blurry telescope. But, now that class had started, Hide couldn’t move anywhere. So, he was stuck. Letting out a small sigh, Hide pulled out his phone. Maybe, just maybe Kaneki would text him back. But, there was no such luck. His phone was devoid of any notifications. Disappointed, Hide dropped his phone on the desk and turned to staring at the ceiling, hoping his boredom would disappear.

This time around, class seemed much longer. Hide could’ve probably grown a beard before the teacher announced the end of the session. But, it did eventually end, much to Hide’s happiness. He stood up and stretched, only to be interrupted.

“Hey.” Hide turned around at the deep voice, only to see a stranger. Well, not really a stranger, as the guy was in this class. In fact, he was usually in the back row with Hide. But, they never spoke, so it was like they never met before. The guy pushed his glasses up his nose before sighing. “You’re not sitting with the book nerd today?”

“Huh? You mean Kaneki?” Hide tilted his head. He was confused as to why this guy was talking to him, especially about Kaneki. Did they know each other? “No. I think he’s sick.”

“Yeah. Sick in the head, maybe.” Hide narrowed his eyes. That was beyond rude. Just who did this guy think he was? “Anyways, I saw you in Anteiku earlier. Asking Touka about him, right?” Hide nodded, though he didn’t feel good about it.

“Yeah. Why? I don’t think that’s against the law or anything, right?”

“Just warning you. That guy brings trouble.” The blonde with the glasses sighed again, pulling his own backpack over his shoulders. “He seems nice, but that’s a front. Thought you’d like to know before you get trapped.”

“I’m not going to get trapped. If Kaneki was a bad person, I’d know. Trust me.” Hide recalled the to-do list in his notebook, and the phone call he lied about. But, those were flukes. At least, that’s what Hide wanted to believe.

“It’s your call. Just don’t blame me for what happens next.” With a shrug, the taller man walked off. Hide watched as he shoved his hands in his pockets, then assumed that he was probably high or something. Lots of college kids were. So, Hide didn’t give it much thought. Instead he jumped at the feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket. Hide grabbed it and smiled uncontrollably when he saw a text from Kaneki.

 

>>> _ Hide - Please send any notes that you took for today’s class period. Thank you. _

 

Feeling his eagerness ebb away, Hide read the text over. That definitely wasn’t Kaneki’s normal texting style. There wasn’t even a smiley face to make it sound nicer than it actually was. Despite this, Hide still typed out a response.

>> _ Ya, I got u. Y didnt u sho up 2day? I missed u  T.T _

 

Hide sent the text, along with a picture of the short notes he took. In reality, it was probably nothing close to what Kaneki would usually take. But, it’d suffice. In college, you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit. Or was that kindergarten? It didn’t matter. Hide was sure that it applied either way.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by another notification. But, it wasn’t anything to be excited about. In fact, it was rather concerning. Instead of a logical reason about why he was gone, Kaneki just sent a one-word thank you. Hide didn’t like that. Not one bit. But, he didn’t want to push it. Hide considered Kaneki his friend, but he wasn’t sure if Kaneki thought the same of him. And, it’d be weird for your project partner to have this huge concern for your physical and mental health, right? So, Hide just sent back a short text, detailing that it was no problem. Then, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and practically stormed out of the classroom.

Deciding that he needed a coffee to clear his head, Hide steered himself towards the shop. Maybe Kaneki was working there, and that’s why he didn’t show up to class today. It wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t that probable either. But, Hide could hope for the best. He’d been doing that since he was a kid. Why stop now?

After about ten minutes of walking, Hide stepped inside the coffee shop. The little bell above the door rang, alerting the staff of his arrival. Touka, who was the closest to the door, smiled at Hide. But, he wasn’t that interested. Instead, he glanced around the shop for Kaneki, only to pout when he couldn’t find him.

“Welcome back, Hide.” Touka stepped up to him. Hide blinked his eyes and looked down at her. When did she start calling him by his nickname? It didn’t really matter, but Hide hadn’t picked up on it before. “Are you having another black coffee?”

“Yeah, sure. You working alone today?” 

“No. Irimi’s here too, but she’s in the back getting some cleaning supplies.” When Touka saw Hide’s dejected look, she rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. That’s not the answer you wanted, right?”

“No, it’s not. When’s Kaneki coming back?” Hide whined. Touka led him to a table as she replied.

“I don’t know. He called in sick again today, just like he did yesterday and the day before that. It’s weird. He usually never misses work.” Touka sighed, watching as Hide plopped into a seat. “I texted him to see if he needed anything, but he didn’t respond like he usually would. I’m kind of worried about him. And I’m usually not worried about people, so hey. That’s something.”

“Yeah. I think he’s hiding something,” Hide mused, glancing up at Touka. She shrugged, then put her hands on her hips. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ve only known him for a year, but he’s definitely got a few things he refuses to tell me.” Touka sighed, but shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter right now. I’ll probably visit his apartment after work.”

“Wait, you know where he lives?” Hide perked up. That was an interesting tidbit of information.

“Yeah. Why do you care?” Unable to come up with a reasonable response, Touka just smirked. “You are so easy to read. Let’s see if I can get this right again. You want to go visit him and see if he’s okay yourself, right?” Hide nodded, unable to really say anything else. She got it completely. “Fine, alright. Give me your phone number and I’ll text you the address. Helps me out because I’ve got a ton of homework and college applications to finish.”

“Wait, really?” Touka nodded, then handed Hide her phone. “Alright. Wait, one more thing. If you’re filling out college apps, you’re still in high school Why are you working on a college campus if you’re in high school?”

“Don’t tell me how to live my life. I’ve got my reasons.” When Hide gave her phone back, Touka grinned. “Alright. I’ll get your coffee for you.” With that, she turned around on her heels and headed for the shop counter. 

Once she was gone, Hide sighed. Glancing at his backpack, Hide realized that he could be working on all of the assignments he had due. But he decided to play a game on his phone instead. That was more exciting anyways. Plus, it was a stress reliever. If there really was something wrong with Kaneki, Hide wanted to be able to fix it. That was the friend thing to do, right? It was normal to worry this much, Hide was sure. As Hide’s thoughts strayed to darker speculations of what could be going wrong, he died in his phone game. Clicking his tongue, Hide reset and tried to keep his mind away from such nightmarish things. Eventually, Touka came back with a cup of coffee. She set it in front of Hide, then started to walk away.

“Wait, Touka. How much is the coffee?” Hide grabbed for his wallet, and Touka just waved him off.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. You’re saving me bus money to get to Kaneki’s place later, so I might as well pay for your drink.” Touka looked like she was about to say something else, but shook her head instead. “Just drink the coffee and visit your boyfriend.”It took a moment, but realization set in once again. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Hide stammered, his face going hot. Touka snorted.

“Yeah. Whatever you say, Hide.” Touka turned on her heels, leaving Hide to stare at his phone in shock. Boyfriend. She just said boyfriend. There was no way that Kaneki felt that way. Nope. No way. And Hide definitely didn’t think Kaneki’s blushing and nervous giggles meant anything. Nor were they cute. Not a chance.

Hide coughed, pretty much acknowledging that he was lying to himself. But, that didn’t matter now, as his thoughts were directed towards a notification on his phone. It was some news story. It said breaking news, but every story seemed to say that. So, Hide just ignored it. It probably wouldn’t affect him anyways. Right?

* * *

Hide rode his bike, smacking his gum in his mouth as he studied the part of the suburbia he was going through. It seemed off. Hide was sure he put the right address into his phone’s GPS. But, the surroundings started getting poorer and poorer. Apartments were in shambles, and everything else looked pretty depraved. It was definitely the definition of a lower socioeconomic neighborhood. Out of the corner of his eye, Hide noticed somebody glaring at him. He might of been mistaken, but Hide was pretty sure he saw lust in their eyes. He pedaled faster.

Following the directions on his phone, Hide turned a corner and found himself in front of another apartment building. The GPS dinged, marking that he’d arrived. With a sigh, Hide hopped off his bike and walked up to the third door. After double-checking that the apartment number was correct, Hide steeled his nerves and knocked on the door. But, the person who answered definitely wasn’t Kaneki.

“Hello?” Hide stared at the man who had answered. Not only did he have unnatural purple hair and eyes, he also happened to be wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Water dripped down his body, telling Hide that he probably just finished showering. “May I help you?”

“Uh, yeah. Does Kaneki live here?” Hide tried to glance into the apartment, but the man moved and blocked his view.

“Hmm, and what’s your name?” Thrown off by the French accent, it took a couple seconds for Hide to actually respond. But, he shook his head and stuttered out something.

“Um, I go by Hide. Uh, can-”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t not know a Kaneki. You must be mistaken.” The purple-haired man tried to close the door, but a voice from further inside interrupted him.

“Tsukiyama, who’s at the door?” Hide recognized the voice of Kaneki, and peeked over the man’s shoulder. He saw his friend standing just a couple feet behind. But, he had something over one of his eyes. Was it an eyepatch? Was Kaneki secretly a cosplayer? Hide wouldn’t be surprised.

“It’s no one.” Tsukiyama tried to close the door again, but Hide wasn’t going to let that slide.

“Hey, Kaneki. You weren’t responding to my texts, so I thought I’d come and check on you. Plus, I got a physical copy of the notes if your phone couldn’t get pictures or whatever.” Hide tilted his head, an innocent smile playing on his lips as the man named Tsukiyama glared at him.

“Hide? How’d you figure out where I lived?” Kaneki rushed up to the door. Tsukiyama moved out of the way, still giving Hide dirty looks.

“Oh. Touka gave your address to me. She was worried too.” Kaneki let out a breath through his nose, while Tsukiyama clicked his tongue.

“Of course she’d do something like this,” he muttered. But, Kaneki didn’t seem to mind. He took a step closer to Hide, giving the latter a full view of his sorry state. Kaneki was wearing an oversized sweater that barely covered his collarbone, as well as baggy sweatpants. His hair was a mess and he looked like he had been throwing up. And to top it off, Kaneki’s one visible eye was red and puffy, like he’d been crying. Hide’s heart stung as he studied Kaneki.

“Hey. What happened?” 

“Nothing.” Kaneki looked away, sniffing. Hide caught sight of a single tear running down Kaneki’s cheek, and that’s when he was sure he was going to cry as well.

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong?” Hide reached out to grab Kaneki’s hands. Tsukiyama stepped back, but kept giving the two of them a wary looks. Kaneki sniffed again, not meeting Hide’s gaze. That’s when Hide moved his hands towards Kaneki’s face to dry his tears. The former brushed his hands over Kaneki’s eyes, only for his finger to dip in when he touched the eyepatch.

Hide must have been extra slow that day because it took a while for the implications to set in, once again. But, when they did, Hide’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Kaneki choked out a sob and drew away from Hide, covering his face with his hands. Tsukiyama stepped between the two, finally having enough.

“ _ Monsieur  _ Hide, I am afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Hide only stared at Tsukiyama before pushing him aside. The latter did nothing more than sigh and close the door, knowing he wouldn’t win this fight.

“Kaneki, what the hell happened?” Hide grabbed Kaneki’s shoulders, forcing them to face each other. Kaneki sobbed gain, more tears rolling down his face.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kaneki repeated, his voice broken. Hide only looked down at him.

“Why are you apologizing? Who did this to you?” Kaneki just shook his head, trying to push Hide away. The latter, out of shock, just let Kaneki go. With a final sniff, he turned tail and ran deeper into the apartment.

“I apologize,  _ Monsieur _ . He hasn’t been having a very good week, as you can imagine.” Tsukiyama stepped up behind Hide, his tone dripping with fake sympathy. “But I am sure that your presence only set him off further. He didn’t want people to find out about this.”

“Who the hell did this?” Hide glared at Tsukiyama. It wasn’t something he did often, but emotions were getting the better of him. Tsukiyama only shook his head and crossed his arms. “Well, if you’re not going to tell me, then I’ll find out.” Hide started to storm away, but Tsukiyama grabbed his arm.

“Please try not to get so worked up. I just cleaned the floors.”

Hide only stared at Tsukiyama for a moment. Really? Just, really? Still maintaining eye contact with Tsukiyama, Hide grabbed the hem of the towel. Then, he pulled it away from Tsukiyama’s body. While the man started to focus his energy on covering up, Hide rushed further into the apartment. He came upon a door, and there was definitely some sniffing coming from inside. Hide let out a nervous breath, then knocked on the door.

“Kaneki? Can I come in?” There was no verbal answer. But, Hide heard some shuffling from inside, and then the lock clicked. Kaneki opened the door just enough for Hide to see his one visible eye.

“You’re still here?” Kaneki titled his head, like that was the last thing he expected. Hide nodded in fervor.

“Yeah. But I get the feeling that purple-haired guy is going to kick me out any second, so can I at least hide out in here?” Kaneki opened the door wider and Hide rushed inside. After making sure the door was closed and locked again, Hide sighed.

“Why did you come here? Seriously?” Kaneki stared at Hide, his expression grave. 

“Because I was worried about you, you dork. If you don’t show up to class and answer any of my texts, I’m gonna get scared.” Hide tried to put his words in a jocular tone, but that didn’t seem to improve the mood at all.

“I’m sorry,” Kaneki whispered, looking down. He sniffed again, and a pang of guilt filled Hide’s mind.

“No, it’s not your fault.” Hide took one of Kaneki’s hands in his and led him to the bed. After making sure that Kaneki was sitting, Hide grabbed a box of tissues off of the nightstand. He tossed it onto the bed, then sat next to Kaneki. 

“How’d you get passed Tsukiyama?” Kaneki asked, switching the topic. Hide grinned and scratched the side of his head.

“I kinda pulled his towel down. I’m scared he’s going to kill me if I go back out there.” Kaneki whipped his head towards Hide, his expression a mixture of shock and awe.

“You did that? To Tsukiyama?” Hide nodded, a smile starting to spread across his lips. Kaneki let out an astonished snicker. “You’re in big trouble. I’m going to pray for your safety.”

“Ah, thanks man. I’ll need it.” Hide giggled, then glanced over at Kaneki. He seemed to be smiling, which was a lot better than crying. So, Hide decided to stay on the same track. “It’s like he’s your big scary guard dog, huh?”

“Yeah. But, he’s not all that bad.” Kaneki was quiet for a moment before adding, “No, nevermind. He’s pretty bad.”

“On a scale of one to ten, how screwed am I?”

“Twenty two.”

“Damn.” Kaneki laughed again, which made Hide’s smile grow twice as big. Then, he turned to Kaneki, whose tears had pretty much dried up. So, he figured he was greenlit for the next question. “So, are you two dating?”

“Huh? Me and Tsukiyama?” Kaneki gave Hide an incredulous look to match his shocked and slightly disgusted tone. “No way. He’s not my type.”

“Oh, so our pure little Kaneki admits to having a type?” Kaneki’s face went bright red and he looked at pretty much everything but Hide. When he started to stutter out a reply, Hide just rolled his eyes. “Kidding, kidding. He just seemed super overprotective, so I assumed there was something going on between you two.”

“Well, I can’t speak for him, but I definitely don’t have any sort of desire for a relationship between us.” With his face still red, Kaneki smiled as he stared at his lap. “Maybe with somebody else, but not him.”

“Oh, is somebody in love?” Hide pushed against Kaneki’s shoulder, and the latter only kept wearing that shy, lovesick smile. Finding that just adorable, Hide poked Kaneki’s forehead. “You’ll have to tell me all the details later, alright?”

“Alright.” The two of them kept grinning, but as they ran out of words to fill the silence, their grins started to fade away. The dire mood crept back, despite being more than unwelcomed. Hide shifted in his spot, now uncomfortable. Kaneki just kept staring down for a while. But, once he looked up, Hide cupped his cheeks with his hands.

“May I?” Hide trailed off as he rubbed his thumbs underneath Kaneki’s eyes. Though he seemed a bit uncomfortable, Kaneki nodded. Gulping, Hide hooked his fingers under the string of the eyepatch. He then slipped the string over his ear, and the eyepatch fell onto the bed.

Hide’s breath caught in his throat, and not in a good way. What used to be a beautiful grey was now a nasty pink. All that Hide could see was marred flesh. His stomach churned and his hands gave the slightest tremble. Kaneki sniffed again, and fresh tears spilled from his one functional eye.

“Why?” Hide breathed out, unable to muster his voice. Kaneki shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

“This is awful. Why would anybody do this to you?” Hide’s own eyes brimmed with tears, but he blinked them away. He had to be strong. For Kaneki.

“I did bad things, and now I’m paying for it.” Kaneki shuddered, and chilling confusion came over Hide’s body. “I don’t even deserve to be upset right now. Bad guys always get what’s coming to them. Right?”

Kaneki sounded so broken at the end, Hide couldn’t take it. He took his hands off of Kaneki’s face, only to wrap them around his back instead. Hide pulled Kaneki close to him, to the point where there wasn’t any space between them. It took Kaneki a moment, but he soon embraced Hide as well.

“Please don’t say things like that. I don’t know what you did, or what happened, but I don’t think I care. You realize now that you made mistakes, and that’s what’s important.” While Hide was dying to know what he did, he took to rubbing Kaneki’s back instead. “So don’t cry over this anymore. It’s not a good look for you.”

“Thank you, Hide.”

They remained like that for another few seconds before Kaneki pulled away. Though hesitant, Hide let him go. For a moment or two, they just stared at each other. And Hide found his breath taken away. Even with the messy hair, even with the complexion of a ghost, and even with the gouged out eye, Kaneki was beautiful. Hide’s heart started to hurt. Some sort of realization came over him, and his head started to hurt as well. When Hide’s lips started to itch, he looked away.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Hide asked once he found his voice again. Kaneki smiled.

“Do you think that you could stop by the coffee shop sometime? Maybe we could just sit down and have a coffee together sometime.” Kaneki blushed as he spoke, causing Hide to let out a nervous snicker.

“Yeah. That sounds good.” Hide stood up, then smiled down at Kaneki. “How about you just rest? I’ll get you comfortable.” After helping him lay down, Hide brought a flimsy little blanket over Kaneki’s body. He would have given Kaneki anything else, but that was the only blanket in the room. Hide made a vow to get something better for Kaneki. He deserved it. 

“Thank you so much, Hide. This is one of the nicest things somebody’s done for me.” Kaneki watched as Hide grabbed the tissues and placed them on the nightstand.

“Of course. I’m just doing what friends do, right?” Hide glanced over at Kaneki, who nodded. “Yup. Well, you all good? Because I think it’s going to take a walk through hell to get to your front door.”

“Yeah. Good luck.” Kaneki giggled again, and Hide’s face heated up. “Goodbye.”

“See you. Make sure to text me if you need anything else.” Kaneki agreed, and Hide walked up to the door. “Sleep well, Kaneki.” With a satisfied sigh, Hide opened the door and stepped outside. After closing the door, Hide let out another breath. Only to freeze when he realized Tsukiyama was leaning against the wall. 

“Uh…” The only coherent thought that Hide could put together was that he was thanking every god out there that Tsukiyama was wearing clothes now. But, other than that, he was stuck.

“Huh. What do you know? Kaneki was right.” Tsukiyama took a step towards Hide and placed his hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good man,  _ Monsieur. _ Thank you.”

“Um, no problem?” Hide was surprised by the change in attitude. But, he wasn’t complaining. He’d rather have a thankful Tsukiyama than a vengeful Tsukiyama. Hide nodded, then continued to walk. He made it to the front door, then paused. For a moment, Hide considered just leaving. Instead, he turned around and smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you Tsukiyama.”

“And you,  _ Monsieur  _ Hide.” Tsukiyama nodded his head, then stepped into the kitchen, out of Hide’s sight. Hide waited a moment more before exiting the apartment. As soon as the door clicked behind him, Hide walked over to his bike. However, something occurred to Hide just as he sat down.

He forgot to bring Kaneki’s notebook. Hide was shocked for a moment, but that expression soon turned to a smirk. After all, this only meant he’d have a reason to see Kaneki again, right? Hide snickered to himself as he started to ride his bike away. Only to stop himself again. A couple feet away, there was a teenager pacing and muttering to himself like crazy. He had longish wavy black hair. Or maybe it was dark purple. Hide couldn’t tell.

“Hey. You alright?” Hide called out, studying the teenager. He looked up, only to put on a troublesome smile when spotting Hide.

“No, I’m fine. Just something happening with my sister. That’s all.”

“Alright. If you’re sure.” Hide was caught off guard by the amount of poison in the boy’s tone. But, that wasn’t any of his business, right? Of course not. So, Hide just started to pedal his bike again. Yet, even as he passed by the teenager, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. Hide tried to shake it off. People watching him? Now, that’d just be ridiculous. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh sorry again for this chapter being late. I'm really bad at posting things on time. T.T I'm actually posting this while in the car on a road trip, so I kind of have an excuse, right? Kind of, not really. But that's besides the point. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Once again, please leave a comment or kudos if you liked it. Writers survive off of feedback. Thank you again, and have a good day!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is super late, I'm so sorry! Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy. :)

“So, we’re about done right?” Hide asked, glancing over at Kaneki. The latter smiled, a small giggle escaping from his lips.

“Yep. I think we’re good. I’ll do some proofreading when I go to the library tonight. But, other than that, we’re golden.”

“Awesome.” Hide brought Kaneki into a side hug, grinning as he did so. Over the past couple of days, the two of them had been meeting up at Anteiku to finish up their language project. And, after a ton of hard work, they finally got it done. Hide was overjoyed. The project wasn’t that hard. He just hated working on projects. But, if he was partners with Kaneki again, maybe he wouldn’t complain next time.

“You two finally done with that project of yours?” Touka asked, refilling Hide’s cup with coffee. “Took you long enough. It’s been, what, two weeks?”

“11 days, for your information.” Hide stuck his tongue out at the girl before continuing. “And we had to make it all collegey. This isn’t just your average high school book report. No, this one requires science. And drama. And friendship. Our entire lives depend on this one book report. We couldn’t just look it up on SparkNotes.”

Hide made a big deal out of it, but most of what he added to the presentation came from SparkNotes.

“Oh, excuse me, Mister Big Shot. I didn’t realize you were so smart. Remind me what the ending of the book was again?”

“Guys, guys. Let’s not fight here. Or anywhere.” Kaneki held up his hands to try and stop their verbal battle. Hide was the first to give in, sighing and leaning back in his chair. Touka just scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Okay, whatever. Anything else that you two need? Coffee-wise?” Touka glanced over at Hide, who just shook his head. Kaneki said no, but thanked Touka for asking. She just put her hands on her hips. “Alright. See you later, love birds.”

Hide choked on the coffee he had just sipped, and Kaneki’s face went about a thousand shades of red. With a smirk, Touka just turned on her heels and walked away, leaving the two of them alone at their table. Kaneki’s eye darted towards Hide, who was cursing and trying to wipe off the coffee he spit out onto his brand new shirt. But, the blond soon glanced up and met Kaneki’s gaze. An embarrassed smile spread across Hide’s face.

“So, um, we’re good with the project, right?” Hide asked, trying to make a quick subject change. Kaneki only nodded, too flustered to even form words. “Okay, so, anything else, or is that about it for today?”

“I think we’re good,” Kaneki stammered, his voice just above a whisper. The two of them were quiet for a moment. Then, all of a sudden, Kaneki leaped out of his seat, making Hide jump a bit as well. “I’ll be right back.” Without giving Hide a chance to respond, Kaneki rushed away from the table and towards the restrooms. Hide stared after him, sighing when the door closed.

With Kaneki out of sight, Hide narrowed his eyes as everything started coming back to him. Throughout the entire meeting, Kaneki acted like he wasn’t bothered. But, Hide noticed how Kaneki’s fingers strayed upwards to touch his eyepatch every so often. Every time Hide caught the motion, it made it his heart hurt. A lot.

That, and Hide forgot Kaneki’s notebook again. Damn.

Hide leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. If he was being honest, he had no idea how to fix this one. Usually, all of Hide’s problems were fixed with jokes. And if jokes didn’t work, he just left. But, Hide was pretty sure that Kaneki wouldn’t appreciate any cyclops puns, and Hide couldn’t imagine being away from him for more than a day. So, Hide hoped that some magical answer to help would fall from the sky.

And, in a way, it did. When Hide opened his eyes, he saw somebody leaning over him, staring him right in the eye. Hide screamed and jolted out of his seat, while the other person only stepped back and smiled. Everybody in the cafe turned around, only to disregard it when they saw Hide as the center of attention. He’d been frequenting the cafe recently, and he tended to bring a lot of noise with him. People were pretty much used to him. But, that didn’t mean Hide knew why this woman appeared from nowhere.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I scared you.” The woman scratched her face, letting out a small giggle. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’d appreciate if you didn’t stare at me when you don’t know me though,” Hide stated, brushing off his clothes. With a huff, he plopped back down into his chair and looked over the lady. Her clothes were all mismatched, and there was a stain of some sort on her blouse. Long, green hair spilled over her shoulders, completing her messy appearance. Hide narrowed his eyes.

“Sorry to disturb you. You just seemed like somebody I was trying to find for a moment there.” The lady grinned, then moved over to Kaneki’s seat. “Is it alright if I sit with you for a little while?”

“Um, actually-”

“It’s okay, I’ll be fast.” The lady smoothed out her wrinkled skirt, then sat in the chair. She rested her chin on her hands, marveling at Hide. Feeling uncomfortable, Hide averted his eyes. He just hoped that she’d leave soon. “So, what’s your name? You’ve got to be called something, right?”

“Nagachika.” Hide kept his tone curt. Maybe this lady would get the hint and skedaddle, or whatever. But, there was no such luck, as her grin widened

“Nice name. I go by Takatsuki Sen. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Nagachika.” Hide took a deep breath, then smiled at her. It was fake, and he was sure she knew. But, at this moment, Hide couldn’t care less. He didn’t care that her name sounded familiar, or that her eyes held a sort of manic glow. He just wanted Kaneki to come back and kick her out. He’d never actually do that, but Hide could dream.

“So, um, why were you leaning over me again?”

“Oh, yes. Like I said earlier, you looked kind of like somebody my friends and I were looking for. But, you must not be the right guy. He seemed a lot more dangerous than you do. So, you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about anything, okay?” Takatsuki smiled, then leaned over to pat Hide’s head. She gasped, then laughed a bit. “Wow, your hair is so poofy. How do you get it like that? It’s like a little bunny.”

“I don’t do anything to it,” Hide snapped, though he tried not to sound too rude. Takatsuki didn’t seem fazed, however, as she continued to pat Hide’s head. He just suffered through it, unsure of how to make her stop.

“You know, you seem very interesting.” Takatsuki tilted her head, smiling as she withdrew her hand. “Be careful, okay? It’d be bad if somebody thought you were too pretty or too funny. They might just go ahead and snatch you up.” Takatsuki chuckled, like there was some inside joke that Hide didn’t get. But, she soon stopped and stood up. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Nagachika.”

“Likewise,” Hide lied. He forced himself to smile, and Takatsuki seemed satisfied. She waved goodbye, then turned around and skipped out of the shop. Hide could only stare after her. Did she literally only stop in this cafe to say hi to him? She didn’t even order anything. With a scoff, Hide grabbed his own coffee. How weird. He never used to attract this many creepy people. Maybe it was the new cologne.

Within a minute or so, Kaneki finally came back from the bathroom. He still looked red-faced, but seemed less embarrassed than before. Good. Hide wasn’t that great with awkward situations. Kaneki commented on Hide looking a little perturbed, but the latter only brushed it off. Kaneki didn’t need to worry about what was going on in Hide’s life. He already seemed troubled enough. It’d be irresponsible of Hide to dump all of his troubles on his newest friend.

The two of them sat together a while more, but Touka soon walked over to the table. She had changed back into her regular clothes, given that her shift was over. Kaneki excused himself, saying something that he was going to go and visit his friend. It took Hide a moment to remember Hinami, the girl in the hospital. He apologized, but Kaneki only waved it off. The three of them said their goodbyes, but before Kaneki could depart, Hide brought him into a little hug. He wasn’t sure why he did it. Well, actually he was pretty sure. He just didn’t want to admit it to himself yet. But, it was fun to see Kaneki’s bright red face afterwards. Touka waggled her eyebrows, but Hide ignored it. He finally saw them off, then sighed. He should probably start heading home. His parents might be coming home today.

With a sigh, Hide started to clean up his belongings, only to pause. There were a couple pieces of paper on the desk. With a nervous glance, Hide picked them up. The top paper was a small note, seemingly ripped off of a bigger piece of paper. It was written in a curvy font that Hide didn’t recognize. But, the content is what confused him the most.

 

_It was really nice talking to you today! You seem really sweet, and your cologne smells nice! So, I’m here to let you know that I’m hoping you’ll start to understand. Nothing is as it seems. Show your friends the picture I’ve provided, and you’ll see their true colors. Love you lots! I’m rooting for you! ~Takatsuki Sen_

 

Hide stared at the note, reading over it a second, and then a third time. It didn’t make much sense. Was she talking about Kaneki? No, it was towards his friends, which meant a group of people. So Hide guessed that Takatsuki was including Touka, and maybe even Tsukiyama. Deciding that the picture might make everything clear, Hide switched over to it.

It was a picture of a lady. She wore a smile, but it didn’t seem too real. Her eyes gave the the entire picture a sinister vibe, making everything look darker. Unnaturally purple hair framed her face, making her red lips and sharp features look pop out even more. And, there was also her unsettling familiarity, like he’d seen this face before. But, Hide didn’t notice any of that. No, it was something else that made his heart drop.

This lady had her arms around Kaneki. Her bright pink nails were hanging onto his grey sweater, like he was her only life source. Some sort of pain shot through Hide’s chest. He labeled it jealousy. With his bad mood furtherly dampened, Hide huffed and turned the picture over. In bright purple ink, two names were written. There was, of course, Kaneki’s. But, when Hide saw the name, chilling fear crept into his mind.

It was the same name that his dad mentioned almost a year ago. It was flippant; he was just talking about a girl who went missing. Apparently she was the daughter of one of his coworkers. But, his parents didn’t seem too upset, so Hide brushed it off, not remembering it until now. There’d been a little news coverage, including the one year anniversary thing he’d heard about a week ago. And, it was the same name that was scribbled in the margins of Kaneki’s notebook.

Her name was Kamishiro Rize. And she was the lost girl who Kaneki loved. 

* * *

 

Hide shifted in his seat, uncomfortable beyond belief. Two students were up at the front of the class, presenting their thoughts on the book they chose. They were doing well, which only meant more pressure on Hide and Kaneki, who were scheduled to go next. Not only that, the picture of Rize was still on Hide’s mind. Unsure of what else to do with it, he just folded it up and put it in his wallet. That same wallet sat in Hide’s front pocket, a living reminder of the fear he was going through. What was even going on anymore? Hide really wanted to believe that Kaneki was a good person. But, with what he said at his apartment and the notes in his book, Hide just couldn’t be sure anymore.

People started clapping, which meant that those students finished. Hide gulped. He’d never been afraid of public speaking before, or at least not like this. It was just everything that was going on. That’s what Hide told himself.

“Hey, are you nervous?” Kaneki’s soft hands brushed against Hide’s arm, and he jerked away. It didn’t feel right for Kaneki to touch him like that, for some reason. Wasn’t he still faithful to Rize? She might be missing, but she was still who he loved. Faint realization crossed through Hide’s mind. Kaneki loved somebody else. He had somebody else he used to text at the end of the day. That meant Hide’s feelings were illegitimate. That meant he didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

With a mixture of relief and heartbreak, Hide put on a fake smile. “Who, me? Nervous? No way. Just excited to get this show on the road, you know?”

“Right, okay.” Hide could tell he didn’t do a good job at hiding his emotions since Kaneki’s eyebrows scrunched up. He looked kind of cute like that. Hide turned away, now sure that he was guilty. He couldn’t think those things, not when Kaneki was mourning his significant other. Kaneki’s hands moved towards Hide’s, and soon enough, their fingers intertwined. “You’ve been acting up ever since class started. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a bit mixed up at the moment,” Hide muttered, finding no reason to lie. As long as he didn’t tell the whole truth, he’d be safe.

“Really? Is everything okay?” Kaneki scooted closer, so their sides were almost pressing. Hide gulped. The second he thought he could push those thoughts away, Kaneki just had to go and act clingy. Perfect. Just perfect. “I don’t want to get you riled up right now, but you can tell me anything you want. You helped me out that one time, so I need to return the favor, right?” Kaneki smiled, but Hide didn’t really catch any of the sentiment that went with it. He just felt numb.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Mr. Nagachika and Mr. Ken, are you two ready to present?” The professor turned towards them. Kaneki nodded, then stood up to walk towards the front of the class. Hide grabbed his laptop and messed with the settings, trying to get it to connect with the classroom’s projector. The pairing was successful, and their cover slide popped up onto the board. Taking in a deep breath, Hide stepped up to the front as well. Him and Kaneki made eye contact, then begun to speak.

“Hello. My name is Ken Kaneki, and this is my partner Nagachika Hideyoshi. We read the book _Alice in Wonderland_ by Lewis Carroll for its extensive use of symbolism and thematic ideas. Please enjoy the presentation.”

With that, Hide moved to the next slide and Kaneki began to speak. He was put in charge of more of the harder stuff, given that he actually read the book for the assignment. Hide just skimmed over it. But, he could still appreciate what Kaneki was saying. It sounded so artful, like there was another meaning that could be derived from his words. Hide stared at Kaneki, watching as his lips moved. At this point, he wasn’t even listening. Hide’s heart sped up, and he started staring at the ground instead. Girlfriend or not, it didn’t matter. Hide had feelings for this guy. He didn’t know where they came from, either. They just sort of popped up. Thinking about it made his head hurt, so instead he listened for his cue.

Kaneki stopped talking soon, and he glanced over at Hide, who just sort of nodded. When he started his own part of the presentation, it seemed a lot less graceful. Hide stumbled over his words, stuttering almost every other second. But, Kaneki didn’t seem to care. He just stared at Hide with that stupid, lovestruck smile of his. If anything, that made Hide mess up more. He just rushed through his words so Kaneki could just pick it up. He was much better at this whole reading thing than Hide was anyways.

After about ten or fifteen minutes later, the two of them finished their presentation. A smile spread across Hide’s face. He was finally done with this project. No more Jabberwockies, no more rabbit holes. It was over.

And then, as he was returning to his seat, a more frantic thought jumped into his mind. This project was the only thing keeping him and Kaneki together. Otherwise, they had nothing in common. Kaneki was a shy, intelligent bookworm, and Hide was loud, foolish, and obnoxious. At least, that’s what his parents called him. Hide hadn’t thought about this before. For all he knew, he thought he’d just kind of stay with Kaneki forever. What if Kaneki was done? No more Hide? Forever?

Hide swallowed a lump in his throat. Why was he getting so emotional over this? Never in his life had he built up a dependency this quickly. It was really throwing him off.

“I think we did pretty well,” Kaneki whispered once he sat down. Hide nodded, but kept his gaze away from Kaneki. There was a pause, and then, “Um, Hide? Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.” Finally, he looked up. Kaneki’s face was tinted pink, and he scratched the side of his head.

“Uh, would you like to come over tonight? To celebrate finishing the project, I mean. I got some good food at the market yesterday. I could make us dinner, or something like that. But, if you’re busy or have something else that you’d rather do, I get it.”

“No, that sounds nice.” Hide smiled. “Wait, is Tsukiyama going to be there?”

“I don’t think so.” Kaneki smiled, looking relieved. “But he shows up on his own sometimes. We should be okay for tonight though. I think he said something about attending a business party. I think he’s out of the country for a bit, actually. He said he was going to call me later today.”

“Huh. Sounds interesting.” Hide would have loved for Kaneki to continue talking, but the next pair of students went up to present. He sighed, and gave Kaneki an apologetic shrug. It didn’t seem to faze him though, as he just smiled at Hide and turned his attention to the front. Hide stared at Kaneki a moment more before doing the same.

Class continued to drag on through a couple more presentations. But, the teacher eventually let them go. Hide sighed as he stood up and stretched. Kaneki did the same, then glanced over at Hide.

“Do you want to text me when you’re coming over?” It took a moment for Hide to remember what he was talking about, but he recalled before he embarrassed himself. “I’ll be at work for a while, so I can text you when I’m finished there, if you want. My apartment’s kind of messy right now though, so-”

“Don’t feel pressured to clean or anything,” Hide piped up, cringing when he realized he interrupted Kaneki. The latter didn’t seem to upset though, so Hide continued. “I mean, I’m fine with any clutter you have around. I don’t mind. But, if it bothers you, you can come over to my house. My parents made me clean it all when they left for Australia, so we’d have some privacy, just in case Tsukiyama came back or something.”

“Um, I’d rather go to my place, if that’s alright with you. Sorry.”

“No, no. Don’t apologize. It’s fine. I just thought I’d offer.” Hide put on another fake grin. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll tell you when my shift is finished. So, I’ll see you later?” Hide nodded, and Kaneki smiled. But, he soon glanced away, his face going pink. “Um, can I?” Unsure of what Kaneki was implying, Hide just nodded. If he was being honest, he didn’t care right now. He just wanted to go home for a while and think about his feelings.

But, all that changed when Kaneki started to wrap his arms around Hide’s torso. His face heated up, and before he knew it, he was hugging Kaneki closer. They stayed like that for what seemed like both too long, and way too short. All of Hide’s thoughts left his mind. The only thing that mattered right now was Kaneki, and the fact that they were caught in an embrace. But, as Kaneki started to pull away, Hide found himself drowned in melancholy. He didn’t want him to leave. Now, without Kaneki pressed against his chest, Hide felt cold and alone.

“I’ll see you later, Hide.” Kaneki’s blush accentuated his bright grin and one visible eye. Then he turned around and left the classroom. Hide could only stare after Kaneki, his hands flexing by his sides. Anxiety and restlessness built up inside Hide’s stomach, and he didn’t know why.

Hide remained like that the entire way home. His bike ride, which was usually something that’d calm him down, was instead filled with turbulent thoughts. Hide was positive he didn’t mean to do it on purpose, but Kaneki was really getting under his skin. And maybe it wasn’t in a bad way either. Hide didn’t know. Honestly, this guy was such a mystery to him, he didn’t know what to think anymore. But, only time could tell what Kaneki’s presence would bring. With that thought, Hide found himself smirking for some reason. Huh. How curious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhhhhh this is so lateeeeee ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... But there will be some romance in the next chapter, so look out. ;)
> 
> Thanks again for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a kudos or comment. Thank you, and have a wonderful day. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some romance and fluff and the whole shebang.

Despite Hide’s fears, he and Kaneki ended up remaining friends. Everything calmed down as well. Hide and Touka bonded and became what Hide would consider a friend, and while Tsukiyama still creeped him out, they got closer as well. He was happy with these blossoming relationships, but he still would have to say he valued Kaneki. While Hide believed his sudden crush would disappear, it never really did. Granted, it wasn’t as apparent, but sometimes Kaneki would do something that would make Hide just step back and remember how wonderful this guy was. Not that he minded. He liked thinking about Kaneki.

The two of them had also spent more time together. While Hide was almost always over at Kaneki’s apartment, they never visited Hide’s house together. Kaneki always seemed unsure or nervous, so Hide didn’t bring it up again. Instead, Hide offered to take them to different places around town. But, even though his parents were rich, Hide was still a college student. So, they usually visited small shops for snacks and trinkets, or went to free places such as the park. Just like they were right now.

Hide and Kaneki were both laying in the grass, staring up at the stars. They’d just finished the first big testing season of college, resulting in this little get together to get rid of the stress. Hide brought a few blankets and some food, and the two ate dinner during the sunset. It was also winter, and even though the first snowfall hadn’t happened yet, it was still quite chilly. So the two of them were all bundled up in the blankets, sharing stories and the likes.

“So, he’s completely covered in paint and he goes up to the teacher and asks for a stapler.” Hide told the story in great detail, with grandiose hand gestures completing the whole story.

“A stapler? Why?” Kaneki asked, letting out a little snicker.

“God, I wish I knew. He was kind of a weird kid. But, anyways, the teacher freaks out because he thinks the paint is blood, and tells the kid to go to the nurse. But, the kid mishears and thinks he asked for a purse or something. So, he goes up to the most popular girl in the class, picks up her purse, and dumps it on the teacher’s desk. The girl is livid and throws another one of the paint things at the kid, so now he’s both red and green. Somebody shouted Christmas, so the kid was known as Christmas Tree for the rest of the year. It was kind of weird.”

“Yeah, that’s super weird. What class was this again? Art?”

“No, math.”

“Wait, really?” Kaneki whipped his head around, shocked. But, he got over it and just leaned back. “Wow. Your high school sounds crazy. How did anybody get anything done?”

“Nothing got done, really. It was fun though, and I learned a lot about how to deal with people, so that’s a plus.” Hide grinned and turned to Kaneki. He had the most disgusted look on his face, like he couldn’t imagine somebody going to a school and not studying. It was more likely than he thought though. Hide could attest to that fact with his grade’s test scores.

“Sounds crazy.” Kaneki soon smiled again, which caused Hide’s grin to widen. It was nice with just the two of them. Hide would enjoy doing something like this more often. “So, um, what do you want to do right now?”

“I don’t know. Talk more or something?” Hide shrugged and laid down. He couldn’t think of anymore interesting conversation topics, and doubted that Kaneki would be able to either. Hide hummed under his breath, trying to think of something. And then it came to him. “Oh, I know. We can play a questions game. I’ll ask you a question and you answer, then you ask me a question and I answer. Sound fun?”

“So, like 20 Questions?”

“Well, more like Ask-As-Many-As-You-Want-Until-We-Get-Bored Questions. But yeah, we can call it 20 Questions.”

“That sounds fun. I’ll do it.” Kaneki smiled, then rolled over so he was on his side, facing Hide. “You start.”

“Huh, oh. Okay.” Hide hadn’t expected to start, or for Kaneki to even say yes. He didn’t have any sort of question prepared. So, he racked his brain for anything that didn’t sound too stupid. “Would you ever eat bugs?”

“Hide, that’s gross.” Kaneki stuck his tongue out for good measure. But, he soon put on a serious face, like he was seriously thinking about it. “Well, if it was a survival situation, I think I might. Bugs are extremely nutritious, you know. But, other than that, I wouldn’t touch them. They look all nasty and stuff.” Kaneki sighed, probably to clear his mind of any bug images. “So, it’s my turn to ask a question? Okay, what’s your favorite type of music?”

“I really like Western music, and the more upbeat stuff. It’s just happy, you know? But, sometimes I’ll listen to Classical or instrumental songs, if I’m in that sort of mood. It depends, I guess.”

“I never thought that you’d ever be into Classical,” Kaneki said in between his laughter.

“What, hey! I’m a well-rounded guy. I listen to a lot of things,” Hide complained. But, he wasn’t actually mad, as he started snickering too. He turned onto his own side to face Kaneki, then mulled over his next question. “If you had to become any animal, which one would it be?”

“Any animal?” Hide nodded, and Kaneki glanced around, like he was thinking. “Um, I’d be a chipmunk.” Hide burst out laughing, and Kaneki blushed. “Hey, it’s not that funny. Just think. Chipmunks are cute and fluffy and nobody hates them. That’s what I want in life.”

“To be fluffy?”

“Shut up.”

The next few questions were of a similar caliber, asked to illicit laughter rather than any actual deep answer. Most of Kaneki’s were rather normal questions, while Hide’s were getting weirder and weirder. But, about halfway through, Hide noticed Kaneki fidgeting. He was picking at his nails and glancing everywhere but at Hide. It was like Kaneki was nervous or something, but Hide couldn’t imagine why. And then Kaneki’s next question came.

“If you had the chance, would you ever date a boy?” 

Hide was taken by surprise. Where did that come from? If he recalled correctly, Kaneki’s last question was about where he’d like to visit in the world. They hadn’t brought up anything romantic at all tonight, and if Hide thought about it, they never really talked about it. But, when Kaneki started to apologize for the question, Hide waved him off.

“Nah, man. It’s fine, so don’t worry about it. Actually, can I tell you a bit of story?” Kaneki nodded, and Hide sighed. His parents didn’t even know about this, so it was a bit awkward recounting the tale. But, if there was one person he could trust with this story, it was Kaneki. “So, in my first year of high school, I was dating this girl. She wasn’t really anything special, and honestly, she was really rude and awful. But, she came up to me and asked me on a date first, so I agreed. To be honest, I think she was just there because my parents have a lot of money. She broke up with me a couple weeks later. I didn’t know why I was so heartbroken, since I knew it was going to happen. I think I just wanted to have somebody special, you know? But, anyways, about a week later, this kid came up to me. He was really shy and quiet, but he was nice. He asked me if I’d be willing to go somewhere with him, like on a date. Given that I’d just been broken up with, I was in no mood to put my heart out again so soon, so I turned him down. But, when I think back to it, I would say that’s my one biggest regret in high school.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I really like girls. Like, girls are pretty damn beautiful. But, I think I’m into guys as well. They tend to be pretty beautiful too.” Hide glanced over to Kaneki. His face, which was usually pale like porcelain, was now bright red. It was cute.

“Oh. Okay.” Kaneki kept his gaze on the grass, not having the courage to meet Hide’s eyes.

“What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“My question. Would you ever be interested in dating a guy?” Kaneki shifted in his spot, bringing his hands up to hide his face.

“Yeah. I think so.” Hide found himself grinning a wide, goofy grin. His heartbeat sped up, and for a moment, he was in utopia. Is this bliss? Hide was sure it was pretty comparable. With newfound giddiness swelling in his chest, Hide scooted a bit closer to Kaneki. The latter peeked out from behind his hands, only to squeak and hide again when he realized how close Hide was.

“It’s your turn to ask a question, Kaneki,” Hide said, a teasing tone in his voice. Kaneki wiggled in his spot for a bit, still embarrassed. But he eventually moved his hands and took in a deep breath.

“Do you, Nagachika Hideyoshi, ever think that you’d be willing to go out with me?” Kaneki recited those words like they’d been rehearsed a thousand times. Before Hide could even think about it, Kaneki was rambling. “And, um, I don’t mean like we have been doing, even though that’s great too. I mean, like, we go out as something more than friends. If that’s alright with you, of course. I mean, you said you liked guys, but that’s a really general term, and I understand if you’re not into me. It’s fine if you’ve got somebody else or something because you’re super kind and funny and could probably date anybody. I don’t even know why I’m asking because you’re so much better than I am, but-”

“Kaneki.” Hide pressed one of his fingers to Kaneki’s lips, shushing him. Kaneki looked down, his expression turning to one of shame and embarrassment. He opened his mouth to most likely apologize, but Hide cut him off. “I’d love to go out with you.”

“Really? You’re not kidding?” Hide shook his head, and Kaneki broke out into a huge grin. That was enough to make Hide happy. Though, he had no idea how he was staying so calm right now. Hide thought that if anybody, let alone Kaneki, confessed to them, he’d be doing backflips. But, no. Now he was completely calm. At least until Kaneki rolled over and hugged him. Then, Hide’s heart started pounding. This was actually happened. Please God, don’t let this be a dream.

The two of them held each other for a moment more before pulling apart. They stared at each other, feeling both of their faces heat up. For a couple minutes, Hide and Kaneki were silent. But, soon enough, Hide was the first one to start talking.

“No offense, but who told you to say it like that? It didn’t sound like you at all,” Hide stated, still smiling from the sheer amount of happiness he had. Kaneki smiled, looking shy.

“It was pretty much all Tsukiyama. He said to be romantic or whatever.” Kaneki laughed a bit. “If he finds out that I finally asked you out, he’s going to want to be in charge of our first date and everything. So, be prepared.”

“I’m fine with that,” Hide said, bringing Kaneki back into his arms. But, he started squirming and his smile faded a bit, so Hide let him go. “Sorry. Also, what do you mean by finally?”

“Huh?” Kaneki had to think it over a bit before he realized what Hide was talking about. “Oh. Um, I’ve, uh, kind of been crushing on you for a while.” Kaneki hid his face behind his hands again, and Hide thought that was the cutest freaking thing ever. “Apparently it was really obvious. Touka got it the first time that she watched us talk to each other, and she was the one that made me realize it. Then, I kind of told Tsukiyama, but he figured it out on his own, mostly. He saw it in the way I talked about you, I think.”

“Oh, so you talk about me? What kind of things do you say?” Hide waggled his eyebrows, and Kaneki just rolled his eyes.

“I usually talked about what we did that day. Like, when we worked on the project, I would tell Tsukiyama about what we did and how hardworking you were. And, before we even officially met, I told him about this really cool person in my class who had a really interesting presentation. And, I guess he figured it out from there.”

“Aw, that’s so cute, Kaneki.” Hide poked Kaneki’s forehead, and he squeaked with fake indignation. With a small laugh, Hide continued to stare at Kaneki. He was so adorable, Hide really thought his heart was going to explode. 

“Anyways, um, back to the question. Will you go out with me sometime?” Kaneki looked up, his face still scarlet. Hide nodded, and Kaneki grinned again. “Thank you so much.”

“Why are you thanking me? I’m the one who just got asked out on a date with the cutest guy in the world. I should be thanking you.” Hide blows Kaneki a fake kiss, and the latter giggled and went even redder. “Also, I have a question.” Kaneki leaned forward in anticipation, and Hide had to hide his smirk. “Are we technically boyfriends now?”

The expression on Kaneki’s face was worth it. The blush, which had just started to subside, was back in full swing. He started to stutter and mumble a bunch of things. Hide just snickered.

“Man, you’re so cute,” Hide whispered, mainly to himself. He didn’t know if Kaneki heard it or not, but his embarrassed expression was funny all the same.

“Uh, to your first question, I don’t know. Do you want to be called, um, that? I mean, we can be official if you want, but, um, it’s up to you, really.”

“But, what do you want? You’re a part of this too,” Hide noted, poking Kaneki’s nose. He sniffed, then replied in a low whisper.

“I don’t think I’d mind it.” Kaneki looked down, focusing on his fingernails. “In fact, I think I’d kind of like it.” Hide giggled again, sounding like a little kid watching two people kiss in a movie. He was just so giddy, he couldn’t help it. Kaneki? Having a crush on him? Hide was smart enough, but didn’t have a single idea about romance. So, this was quite the lovely revelation for him.

“Alright. It’s settled then.” Hide smiled, then moved his hands towards Kaneki’s. He took them, and Hide smiled at the warmth of them. “We’re boyfriends now. We’ll meet up for coffee and do cute things that will make single people want to throw up. Sound like a plan?”

“Yes. That sounds good.” Kaneki smiled, then eventually moved to laughing. Hide joined in soon, and the two just stayed there, reveling in their lovesickness.

For the next thirty minutes, they just laid there. Most of the time they were talking, but at some points, they just sat there and smiled at each other’s company. It really wasn’t any different than other outings that they’ve had, but the context was totally new. Any thoughts of past relationships or drama were gone from their minds. All they needed at that moment was to be with each other.

At least until Tsukiyama started calling. Kaneki muttered something, then declined the call. He apologized to Hide, saying that he forgot that he told Tsukiyama to meet him at his apartment. Hide only shrugged, then offered to walk Kaneki home. He obliged, and the two of them packed everything up. 

On the way home, the two joked around with each other. And, about halfway through the walk, Kaneki slipped his hand into Hide’s. He thought about teasing the black-haired boy, but decided against it. His hand was soft compared to Hide’s calloused ones. But, Kaneki didn’t seem to care. He just continued to smile and laugh. It was a lovely thing to see.

It only took about twenty minutes to get to Kaneki’s house. Tsukiyama was standing in front of his door, but smiled and waved when he saw Kaneki and Hide. Kaneki waved back, then turned to Hide.

“Thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun.” Kaneki took Hide’s hands in his, a shy smile forming on his lips.

“Yeah, no problem. Thanks for coming with me. And I’ll text you when I’m available for that date, okay?” Kaneki nodded, causing Hide to grin. They stayed like that, holding hands for a moment. Hide wanted to do something small, just to leave Kaneki with a good memory of this, but decided against it. He’d seemed uncomfortable with a hug earlier, so Hide didn’t want to push it. So, he moved to pull away, only for Kaneki to squeeze him into a short, small embrace. It only lasted a second, but it was still enough to leave Hide with a huge grin.

“Have a great night, Hide. I’ll talk to you later.” Kaneki gave Hide one last smile, then started climbing up the steps to his apartment. Hide watched as Kaneki opened the door, and as both him and Tsukiyama walked inside. Once the door was closed again, Hide sighed and started walking away.

As he was walking, Hide pulled out his phone. It’d buzzed a few times, but he ignored the notifications for Kaneki’s sake. But, now was a perfect time to read over them. At the top was a text from his father, telling Hide to pack bags for his parents for their business trip off in the Americas. Hide rolled his eyes and ignored the text. He continued to scroll and instead focused on the social media notifications. While Hide was used to complete strangers liking his pictures, one name in peculiar stood out. There were at least thirty notifications solely from a person called  _ eto.dreams _ liking his pictures. Now curious, he opened one of the notifications to get to the person’s profile. It had just about loaded when a new notification popped up.

 

_ Dead Girl Found in River: Identity Revealed! _

 

Intrigued, Hide pressed on that notification, ignoring the now-loaded profile. It took a moment for the news app to boot up, but soon enough, the whole story was in Hide’s hand. It started off with a picture of a police team pulling something out of a river. When Hide squinted, he saw something that looked like a body. It was rather grotesque and rotted, but a body all the same. Though he was a bit grossed out, Hide continued to read.

 

_ “Earlier this week, authorities were notified of something abnormal in the river. When they went to investigate, they found what seemed to be a woman’s corpse in the water. The police fished it out and sent it to a lab in order to find DNA and identify the woman. Their findings just came in earlier today. It turns out that the body in the river belongs to the same woman who went missing just under two years ago…” _

 

Hide didn’t need to read anymore to know where this was going. He stopped in his tracks, covering his mouth with his hand. All of a sudden, that heartfelt dinner that he ate with Kaneki seemed like it was going to come back up any moment. Hide’s stomach churned at the realization.

The woman they found was Rize Kamishiro. She went missing in March almost two years ago. She was Kaneki’s ex-lover. They were dating. They were in love. Hide just agreed to go on a date with the same man who used to love this woman. Kaneki was the same man who wrote about Rize in the margins of his notebook. He was the same man who had the task of getting rid of all of her pictures in a to-do list. He was the same man who perhaps, maybe, possibly needed to get rid of evidence.

Kaneki was the same man who just might be her killer.

With a terror that he had never felt before, Hide whipped around on his feet to run back to Kaneki’s apartment, wanting to know if this was actually happening. But, before he knew it, a metal bar was swinging towards him. Hide didn’t have any time to react. There was a sharp pain in Hide’s head as it hit him right against the forehead.

At first, all Hide felt was pain. Soon after, there was this surreal ringing in his ears as he fell to the ground. Black dots danced around in Hide’s vision as a prickling cold crept through his brain. With his fingers grasping at the dirty ground, Hide spat something out. There was a metallic taste in his mouth as he tried to get a glance at his attacker. All Hide could see was an all-black outfit. The strength seeped out of his body and Hide went limp.

And then he felt nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now get ready for some pain in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, I've abandoned the idea of this fic actually having a consistent updating schedule. I'll try to post a new chapter every other week, but since none of this is prewritten, that schedule might change. But, thank you so much for those who have read and enjoyed this story! I hope you continue to bear with it for the next few chapters. Thank you, and have a wonderful day. :)

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh this was supposed to be a harmless coffee shop au, and look what happened. It got a plot. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed, and I'll be sure to add more. Thank you for reading!


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